[conductr]

This is a pretty common story these days. I don’t know if you feel like you have leverage or if you’re perhaps too worried they’d call your bluff. But go tell them you want a salary adjustment. Make your case, and ask for like $5 or whatever extra you feel is right. Also, OT doesn’t have to be paid at 1.5x, that’s just the minimum. They can require OT, but you get to decide at what rate. So if base salary isn’t flexible, you can extract more from the situation this way. Or, use it as a way to avoid being scheduled for OT.

The state of the world being what it is, I see a lot of movement happening at your wage level. It’s a good time to get more and set the limits you’re comfortable with. I feel like many folks have never felt they have the power to negotiate and in this market, you do.

Anyways, I had no advice on your original question but thought starting with improving your current situation to accelerate the education track would help. Unfortunately, most well paying careers do require a degree and you’ll hit that obstacle throughout your life. So, if you do pivot careers, still get the degree. Because next time when you change employers it will still be a basic screening thing that will hold you back.